Volfhart Empire (Mars)
Volfhart is the most powerful area on Mars. It is the most populated, most historically developed, and largest singular area on Mars. It is home to the Wulvar, a wolfish race that is known for their aggressiveness, pragmatism, and collectivism. Volfhart has its capital located in Arnarhvall, which is also the largest city on Mars. It is covered in rich evergreen forests with rivers and streams feeding the life that exists. History Volfhart was not always unified. It had a long, struggling history in order to get where it is now. Volfhart is practically covered in blood from all the wars that have ravaged the lands. When Wulvar civilization was first developing, it was mainly just in tribes and packs. As they gradually kept forming, resources became scarce. Thus, the first Great Conflict occurred in 1200 BCE - wiping out thousands of tribes and early Wulvar for the sake of guarding resources. What was left were nation-states. For a while, these nation-states were peaceful, bringing out an era of prosperity. For around 1 thousand years, these states grew and prospered, reaching medieval levels of technology. Until there began arguments over land. Arguments that turned into threats, arguments that turned into wars, and the Second Great Conflict occurred, except this time not with the intent of wiping out tribes, but with the intent to conquer and command them. With 30 years of brutal bloodshed, only 6 states were left - Arnarhvall, Raumsdalr, Manavik, Manarfell, Akrafjall, and Skjalfandi. These states eventually gestated for another 1,700 years, bringing an even longer era of peace, mostly marred by minor conflict. Over these 1,700 years, the states grew their own cultures, own technologies, and militaries. But then came Hreidar Grimarsson, the great conqueror of Arnarhvall. He led the armies of his land to conquer the great Volfhart, hoping to unify technology and power. He was incredibly successful, with his military techniques unmatched throughout the lands. He did this because Arnarhvall had a secret weapon: Drakoid Sorcerers who they had established relationships with from across the Great Strait. He plowed through the land, conquering land after land, unifying all of Volfhart. And yet, immediately after he died, Volfhart entered a bloody civil riot. The new lands did not take kindly to being conquered, and rebelled, with the first land being Skjalfall. They considered the revolution so important that they renamed themselves Freidlandt. Once every state had freed themselves from the iron grip of Arnarhvall, they formed a coalition to prevent the city from ever subjugating them again. And thus, peace was established until 1700 CE. Arnarhvall, reeling from the effects of the Coalition’s efforts to bring them down, revolted greatly. The citizens considered their government corrupt, and eventually revolted to form a facist government, hellbent on taking revenge for what the rest of the world had done to them. They started attacking on all sides, lashing out and persecuting the other states with bloody, violent wars meant to cause devastation. The other states were blindsighted, and were completely trampled over, and this would mark the first time the Drakoids got involved. Once Arnarhvall had started attacking the Drakoids, the Drakoids lashed back - HARD. They leveled Arnarhvall and reinstated a new government meant to recover the citizens of Arnarhvall. The Drakoid Intervention had brought Volfhart to their feet. The rest of Volfhart claimed they had jurisdiction over what happened with Arvarhvall, yet the Drakoids did not believe they were fit enough to do such a thing. So, they decided to have joint rulership over the city. This era of peace has lasted until today. The joint rulership of Arnarhvall has allowed wolf Wulvar and Drakoid to form close relationships, forming a cohesive monarchy that both can elect towards. And Arnarhvall, with all the special attention given to it, became a center for diplomatic relations and technological growth. Population Volfhart is 27% Arnarhvallen, 23% Manarfellen, 19% Manaviken, 14% Akrafjallen, 9% Raumsdalren, 3% Drakoid, and 8% other. Volfhart is the largest population of Wulvar on Mars, accounting for 67% of all Wulvar. The reason no Wulvar in Volfhart are Skjalfanden is because Freidhart succeeded from Volfhart to become its own independent state. Culture The Wulvar in general have a large emphasis on pragmatism and building technology. Their architecture resembles very modernist and futuristic styling of building, and they often focus on having techy-looking stuff over arcane-looking stuff. Common cars, skyscrapers, terminals and all are more common here. However, each area has a slight variation on this. Arnarhvall is the example of this kind of style, with massive skyscrapers and complicated infrastructure resembling something out of blade runner rather than warcraft. Manavik has a more arcane focus, there is an extra arcane spin on that style. Akrafjall is a city meant to be a coastal vacation spot, and thus has an emphasis on the beach. Raumsdalr has some sick underground complexes to defend against attackers. And Manarfell has a more spiritual emphasis, with more religious Wulvar living here rather than the other areas. Freidlandt does not follow these styles at all, and instead opts for a more scrapyard aesthetic to show their hard work and authenticity. Wulvar, other than pragmatism and technology, have extremely tight bonds with one another. Their familial bonds are unbreakable, and they will not shy away from helping their community. Individualism at the expense of others is heavily frowned upon. Unfortunately, this also means that their hatred for anyone who does harm to their peers will be viciously attacked. Arnarhvall is notable for having an extreme degree of mistrust towards Drakoids and is considered one of the most dangerous places on Mars for one. Wulvar unfortunately do not see Sandy Wulvar as one of their own. In some cases, they even see them as traitors to their homeland. Sandy Wulvar will not get the usual friendly faces native Wulvar get, and they can get attacked by those who see them as traitors. Wulvar do not know what to think about Avarians. They are usually confused by their presence. Locations Arnarhvall Arnarhvall is the capital of Volfhart. It is where the main government of Mars is located, where the most people in a single city live, and the center for progress on Mars. Arnvarhvall is located on a large Fjord, with rivers cutting into the cliffs. It also gets a lot of rain from the strait next to it and the desert sands that blow into it. The fact that it was levelled means the city has been rebuilt with stronger, more efficient infrastructure than ever before, and with so much history, many monuments exist to commemorate its past, such as Grimarsson Tower, which commemorates Arvarhvall’s golden years of the past, and the brutalist monuments dedicated to the facist state. Manarfell Manarfell is the joke of Volfhart. It is the one that has succumbed first the Arvarhvall’s territorial fits. The people here have a general disdain for Arnarhvall, and led the policies to suppress the state when they finally got power. This area has been haunted by many Skinwalkers and Wendigos, and many Wulvar that live in this area have turned towards the celestials to give them hope in trying times. Manavik Manavik is a far out area from Arnarhvall, and has thus avoided most conflicts from Arnarhvall. They however, are warmongers of themselves. They have a heavy focus on arcane weaponry, such as bombs, artillery, and guns. They develop most of the weapons that the Wulvar use against other people, and have developed some of the best war minds in Wulvar history. The people here are trigger-happy and strict, opting for punishment and justice in Wulvar society. Raumsdalr Raumsdalr has been a victim for most of its days. Constantly being attacked by the Manavik. To compensate, they have formed heavy defenses, underground bases, and ways to counteract weapons. They are the defense capital of the Wulvar, with much of their lands being underground. They have underground highways, cities, and bunkers. Their entire populace can go underground for defense in an instant if they need to. This is why Raumsdalr has spread its knowledge among the new empire to build more defensive tactics to avoid being their past selves. Akrafjal Akrafjall is a peaceful Wulvar community. They primarily focus on cultivating food, fishing, and relaxation. They are the herders of the Wulvar, and thus were a valuable asset. They frequently did not fight against being conquered, but welcomes new people with open arms to avoid being slaughtered like their own lambs. This legacy has deemed them weaklings, but a valuable resource and a good vacation destination among the rest of Wulvarkind. Freidlandt Freidlandt, though not technically a part of Volfhart anymore, still has its legacy. The people of Freidlandt have always been more distant from the other empires, choosing to reign themselves and not get involved in any conflicts. The people here have a high need for independence and freedom, and people here will take matters into their own hands rather than any government. Technology Wulvar technology is very sci fi esque. They have laser guns, laser swords, light shields, combat armor, and all sorts of things. They have been able to create battleships and star cruisers to scout all throughout the Sol system. They possess space weapons, such as laser artillery, nuclear bombs, and that. They can augment themselves with cybernetic enhancements and even modify their genetic code to rid themselves of diseases. They have many AIs that automate processes for them, eliminating lower class workforces. And perhaps the most strangely, a universal translator, made specifically to trash talk other species. Government The Volfhart Government is best described as a confederacy. It is made up of loosely bound states under a central oligarchy. Most of the Volfhart government is done at a local level, with each city having their own laws, regulations, and people. They all do have a few things in common. They all have agreed to let free travel between each state as they please. They have also decided to be very freedom-driven. There is little regulation on what a person can or can’t do. The only exception is Manarfell, which is so full of superstition that they have ridiculous laws, such as oranges are banned from consumption during the night. Freidlandt takes these a step further by having no government. It is a people’s town first and foremost. Religion Wulvar are generally atheist or agnostic. They don’t have faith in any sort of celestial beings, seeing their weak connection to it. Of course, they do know certain things exist, such as celestial energy and the guardian Fenrir. Manarfell is dominated by a religion that devotes itself to the pantheon of the war celestial Brandr.